Swivel



F. J RuoT April 12, 1932.

SWIVEL Filed Fb; 26', 1930 INVENTOR ATTORNEY I Patented Apr.= 12,i1 932l' J i i it sire; stars are OFFICE FRANK .r. error, or BELL, CALIFORNIA swIvEL Application filed February 26, 1930. Seria1 No. 431,441.. This inventionrelates to well drilling useful provision, formation, construction, astools, and particularly to improvements in sociation, and relative arrangement of parts,

rotary swivels. v p members and features, all as shown in a cer- The invention has for an object the prot ain embodnnent 1n theaccompanying drawvision of .arotary swivel adapted to relieve ings, described generally, and more particustrain from the swivel bearings. 1 larly pointed out in the claims.

At the present time, rotary swivelsare uti- In the drawings: 1 lized as the medium .through which mud-- Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevation of laden fluid is pumped into drilltubing where the improved rotary swivel,

i the rotary system ofdrilling is utilized. Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line Quite often, this drill tubing is of consider- 22 of Figure 1, and, i ablelength, and ifthe tubing does not go Figure 3 is a cross sectionalview on the straight downwardly within the hole from line 33 of Figurel.

the said swivel, the swivel is twisted or a tor- Referring to the drawings, the improved l5 sion is setup therein. 7 swivel is designated as an entirety by A and An object of the present invention is to the same includes among its elements a bail relieve all strain from the bearings of the a adapted to'be associated with a housing 6',

swivel, and likewise to provide a. swivel a body 0 and a plurality of associated tubes adapted to equally distribute theweight of cl through which water or mud-laden fluid the drill tubing relative to the swivel. is adapted to be directed, and bearing means Another object is the provision of a swivel 0 whereby certain of the tubes d may rotate which is self-centering in that-the portions of relative to the body, all of which elements the swivel which permit drill tubing to romay be utilized in practicing an emboditate is always in the plane of the drill tubing. ment of the invention. p

At the present time, it is not alwayspossi- The housing I) is formed in two parts 1 and ble in a large derrick to exactly center the 2, the said parts being secured together in swivel carrying the tubing directly overthe any ordinary manner, such as by providing well hole and strains are induced in said threads for cooperative engagement between swivel first to one side and then the other, the parts, as shown at 3. The part 2 is prowhichis highly detrimental to the working vided with'diametrically disposed trunnions Y parts of the swivel and of necessity shorten i and 5, to which'trunnions are secured the its life. usual bail a. This housing is provided with The present invention has been devised for a curved socket portion 6 within which sockthe purpose of overcoming certain existing et portion is adapted to be confined an elefaults in swivels now onlthe market and yet ment of the body 0.] This element is comto provide a swivel which is relatively inexposed of two parts 7 and 8, which may be pensive of manufacture, does not require secured together in any ordinary manner, special dies or machinery for its construcsuch as by providing the parts with coopertion and which can compete in the market ative screw-threads 9., A portion of the pe- 40 with inferior swivels and at the same or riphery of the parts 7 and 8 is curved to conso slightly under the price of such inferior form with the curvature of the socket 6 of products. the housing. Both portions 7 and 8 are in- The swivel offers long life, durability, genternally recessed or hollowed, as shown at 10 eral all around efficiency and serviceability and 11. Both parts are provided with an and is superior to many of the present annular extension,as shown at 12 and 13, and swivels. g I when the two parts are cooperating, as shown Objects other than stated above will be dein Figure 1, these extensions are in alignment tailed as the specification proceeds, and with or diametrically opposite. In this connecthe above mentioned and other objects in tion, the parts 7 and 8am provided with 50 View, the invention consists in the novel and bores 14: and 15, these bores being in axial 10o alignment and likewise in alignment with the extensions 12 and 13. It will thus be seen that this construction provides a ball and socket joint and that the parts 1 and 2 of the housing do not form complete circles but that opposite segmental portions have been removed therefrom, thus providing plane surfaces 16 and 17. Furthermore, the openings as shown at 18 and 19 communicate with the socket portion of the housing and are of greater diameter than the diameter of the extensions 12 and 13. This, of course, allows for a given movement of the ball within the socket. Within the chamber portion of the part 8 of the housing is a ball race member 20 and bearing members 21 are received within said race. A further ball race 22 is adapted to cooperate with the race 20 in such a manner as to hold the bearings therebetween. There are two water tubes (Z, as shown at 23 and 24, and the ball race member 22 is secured to the tube 23. This tube 23 extends through the bores 14 and 15 and likewise through and beyond the members 12 and 13. The fit of this tube within the bores 14 and 15 may or may not be a close fit, it being the intention that the tube 23 should revolve and be guided more or less by the body 0. Obviously, the weight of the tube and any part associated therewith is carried by the race member 22 which, in turn, contacts with the bearings 21, the hearings in turn communicating their weight to the race member 20 and to the body. The extension 13 may be internally recessed or enlarged as to internal diameter at the zone 25 and packing may be placed therein. A look nut 26 may be screw-threaded at2i' to the extension and bear against the packing. The part 12 is externally screw-threaded at 28, and a cage 29 provided at one end with a screw-threaded portion 30, is secured to the threads 28. This cage is formed with an inwardlydirected flange 31 to which is secured a clamping ring 32. This clamping ring may be provided with a plurality of transverse bores through which are passed headed bolts 33 adapted for screw-threaded engagement with the flange. The tube 24 is secured to the clamping ring and this tube 24 is telescopically received within the tube 23. This clamping ring likewise secures the goose neck 34, the goose neck being in communication with the tube 24. Adapted to be confined between the periphery of the tube 23 and the inner surface of the extension 12 is packing 35, this packing being maintained in position by a bushing 36. Likewise, packing 37 is placed between the periphery of the tube 24 and a portion of enlarged inner diameter 38 of the tube 23, and a packing nut or bushing 39 is adapted to bear again-st this packing 37. A cap nut 40 is adapted to have screwthreaded engagement with the threads 28 so that the bushings 36 and 39 may be held in work engagement with the packing. A portion of the inner surface of the housing is provided with a keywa-y 41 and a key or pin 42, secured to the part 8 of the body is received within said way. The lower end of the tube 23 may be screw-threaded, as shown at 43, for the purpose of securing a union or coupling 44, this coupling in turn being adapted to secure the pump tubing, not shown.

The operation, uses and advantages of the invention just described are as follows:

Quite obviously, a swivel is utilized for the purpose of permitting drill pipe to rotate without twisting the hose or other line communicating with the sump around the swivel. A well designed swivel will not bind and will have comparatively free action. However, it is not always possible to allow the swivel to hang in alinement with the pump tubing, with the result that a twist occurs. When this occurs, of course, the life of the swivel is immediately shortened, due to excessive wear of the parts. The present invention permits the swivel to accommodate itself to the end that there is no strain on the bearings and there is an equal distribution of the weight so far as the relationship between the housing and the body is concerned. The moving parts of this swivel, as is obvious, on inspection of the drawings are so related that sand, grit, or other deleterious substances cannot come in contact with the working parts. Assuming that the swivel is being used and that mud-laden fluid is being pumped through the goose neck into the tube 24 down through the tube 23, past the union or connection 44 and into the drill pipe or tubing, rotation of the tube 23 is permitted due to the fact that this tube is supported upon the bearings 21, and the extension plus the bores of the body, act to guide or hold this tubing in a given relation to the body. If any twist occurs, the body due to its ball like construction, may move within the socket of the housing. However, the body cannot rotate relative to the housing because of the keying therebetween. Deleterious substances cannot contact with the working parts due to the method of packing between the body and the tube 23 as well as the tube 24. The parts arereadily accessible in that the housing may be readily disassembled, as may likewise thebody, and the cage arrangement is such as to permit the cap nut 40 to be readily disengaged from the screw-threads of the extension 12 so that the glands or packing nuts may be removed. The cage may be disconnected from the extension 12 and upward pull upon the cage will remove the tube 24 from within the tube 23. Itwill thus be seen that all parts are readily accessible if for any reason it becomes necessary to either inspect or renew any working part. It is evident that the packing is arranged for ready accessibility so that packing may Ill) be renewed. at any time without unduly stop-the curved periphery of both parts of said ping operation of the rotary for a long period. It is evident that by providing this I 7 limited universal 'movement between the V utilize some other means for permitting this body and the housingthat vibration which body, and a bailfor said housing, whereby the body may have gyratory motion relative to the housing.

In testimony whereof, I have signedmy.

name to this specification atLos Angeles,

California, this 13th day of February, 1930.

FRANK- .J. RUOT.

which, of course, would occur if the parts were all rigidly connected.

It is evident from the specification that the body may be tilted indifferent planes relative to the housing. In other words, the body is permitted a gyratory movement within the socket of the housing; I might, of course,

gyratory movement but I have found the ball and socket to be very satisfactory in practice. I may provide lubricant openings whereby contact surfaces between the ball and socket may be lubricated.

Itis obvious that various changes and modifications and variations may be made in practicing the invention in departure from the particular showing of the drawing without, however, departing from the true spirit of the invention.

I claim: 7

1. The combination in a rotaryswivel for wells,-of a housing, a bail secured thereto, said housing being formed with a curved socket and a body provided with a curved periphery confined within said socket, and fluid passage means carried by the body. 1

2. The combination in a rotary swivel for: wells, of a housing formed with a curved socket, a body in. part confined within said curved socket and adapted for gyratory movement therein, and a fluid passage tube rotatively secured to said body.

3. The combination in a rotary swivel for wells, of a tube through which fluid is adapted to be passed, a bail, and means of support between said bail and said tube,'said means comprising a two-part housing, one part of which is swingingly secured to said bail, and a body within said housing, both parts of said housing being formed with a curved socket and both parts of said body being provided with a curved periphery; both parts of said body .being internally recessed and' means within the recess for rotatively securf for said tube; a housing adapted to engage 

